I’ve had fun reading Pamela Grandstaff’s first two mysteries Rose Hill and Morning Glory Circle(incidentally two of my favorite flowers). Pamela is as sweet as the flowers she names her mystery books after. When she heard I’d given away my copy of Rose Hill to a lady working on a church committee with me(actually there was a bit of an argument over the book but the ladies decided to pass it around!) she sent me a replacement. I’ve marked on my calendar that her new book Iris Avenue is coming out in October(my birthday month)and the kids have been put on notice that this would be a great birthday gift for me. By the way Pamela, I have irises in my garden too. Can I make a suggestion for book number four? Lilacs! They’re my absolute favorite!
Who?
Who is your favorite mystery author?
Dorothy Sayers. Harriet Vane from the Peter Wimsey books is my favorite mystery series character. I re-read Gaudy Night and Busman’s Honeymoon once a year, and thoroughly enjoy that the brilliant, sophisticated, upper class detective falls for the independent, brainy nerdette, and better yet, has to work hard to convince her to marry him. That’s my idea of the perfect romance.
What?
What would you be doing if you weren’t writing mystery books?
I love to design houses I may never build and work on graphic design projects.
Why?
Why did you begin writing mysteries?
Due to some big changes in my life a few years ago I started staying home most of the time when I wasn’t working, to care for a family member. At first I wrote just for myself, as a creative outlet in the evenings. I made up some characters, put them in a town, and after I got bored with that I decided to make the story a mystery. Suddenly the writing became challenging in a way it hadn’t been and I became passionate about what I was doing.
Where?
Where do you live?
I grew up one of those preacher’s kids who moved every couple years so I was always the new kid in school. I once lived in a town with a population of 400, and I’ve also lived in some pretty big cities. I’ve come to realize that it’s being near family (either the one you got stuck with or the one you make) that makes a place feel like home.
When?
When would you write a mystery if not in contemporary time?
I’d secretly like to write Harry Potter-esque magical mysteries under a pseudonym. My inner twelve-year-old is already awake and spazzing over the idea.
Anything new coming up?
The third book in my Rose Hill Mystery Series, Iris Avenue, is coming out in October in trade size paperback and Kindle e-book on Amazon.
Rose Hill looks like the perfect place to browse for antiques, grab a quick bite to eat, or drink a pint with the friendly locals. Underneath the polished veneer of this charming college town, however, lies something old and rotten that’s about to be revealed.
When the bloody trail of a drug-dealing turf war leads back to Rose Hill, Police Chief Scott Gordon finds his investigation complicated by a rabidly ambitious county investigator and a swarm of FBI agents. When all his preconceived notions of right and wrong are called into question, Scott must decide if upholding the law is worth sacrificing the very people he has sworn to protect.
Feisty bookstore owner Maggie Fitzpatrick still has not forgiven Scott for a mistake he made in the past. Maggie’s safe and orderly world is rocked by the return of the love of her life, a man who mysteriously disappeared seven years before. Although he’s not the man she thought she knew, he still has the power to overwhelm her senses and tempt to her to abandon everything she holds dear.
It’s a bitterly cold March in Rose Hill and dark clouds gather like an ominous warning. The suspects and victims have returned to the scene of an old crime; now all must face the consequences of the choices they made years ago.
I feel like I need to go “Dun, dun, dun!” after that last sentence. LOL.
Happy Reading,
Pamela